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name: models-and-providers description: "Guides agents through Pydantic AI model selection, provider configuration, optional extras, native tools, embeddings, wrappers, fallback, concurrency, and provider troubleshooting." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: MIT

Models and Providers

Use this sub-skill when a task involves choosing a Pydantic AI model string, configuring a provider or profile, installing optional provider dependencies, wrapping models for fallback/concurrency/instrumentation, adding provider-native tools, using embeddings, or diagnosing provider import/auth/settings failures.

Read First

• Read references/model-selection.md to choose provider:model-name strings, direct model/provider/profile classes, ModelSettings, known_model_names(), FallbackModel, ConcurrencyLimitedModel, and InstrumentedModel.
• Read references/provider-installation.md to map model strings, providers, embeddings, and common tools to the smallest pydantic-ai-slim[...] extra and environment-variable checklist.
• Read references/native-tools-and-embeddings.md when adding provider-native WebSearchTool, CodeExecutionTool, MCPServerTool, FileSearchTool, embedding workflows, or common tools that require extras.
• Read references/troubleshooting.md to debug missing provider prefixes, optional SDK imports, API keys, Google/Vertex naming, profile/schema incompatibilities, fallback timing, and native-tool failures.
• Run scripts/check_optional_provider.py for a no-network import/config diagnostic for selected model, embedding, or common-tool providers.

Route Elsewhere

• Use ../agent-core/ for Agent construction, run modes, dependencies, streaming, message history, and deterministic TestModel/FunctionModel testing.
• Use ../tools-and-toolsets/ for Python function tools, tool schemas, toolsets, approvals, deferred tools, and ModelRetry design.
• Use ../outputs-and-messages/ for NativeOutput, structured output support, message parts, multimodal content, and output/history serialization.
• Use ../mcp-and-integrations/ for MCP client/server lifecycles, provider-adaptive capabilities, Logfire, UI adapters, and durable execution integrations.
• Use ../cli-and-apps/ for clai, pai, web UI, and command-line model flags.

Operating Rules

• Prefer provider-prefixed strings such as openai:gpt-5.2, anthropic:claude-opus-4-6, google:gemini-3-pro-preview, or openrouter:google/gemini-3-pro-preview when portability is enough.
• Instantiate concrete model/provider classes only when customizing authentication, base URLs, HTTP clients, profiles, default settings, retries, or gateway behavior.
• Treat cloud SDKs, credentials, native tools, common web tools, and embeddings as optional: diagnose imports and configuration locally before claiming provider access.
• Do not run cloud verification scripts or upload helpers as part of this runtime skill; credentialed Bedrock, Vertex/GCS, and file-upload scripts are source evidence only and are intentionally excluded.